Anfield bows to its past and hails the future

THE time was six minutes past four, 96 minutes after referee Mike Riley had confirmed Liverpool’s fifth successive Premier League victory.

Rafael Benitez was looking to make a quick getaway but as he negotiated his dark BMW carefully out of the car park, he was stopped at the Shankly Gates by dozens of supporters, desperate for the Spaniard to sign their programmes, shirts, scarves and anything else that came to hand.

Five minutes later, still smiling and with his two backseat passengers showing outstanding patience, the Liverpool manager was still scribbling away.

What a difference a few days can make. When Benitez sped out of Anfield with his Champions League ambitions in tatters late on Wednesday night, the only people who had hung around to greet him were the club’s security guards.

Most supporters had scuttled off home or to the nearest pub to conduct their own inquests into their team’s capitulation at the hands of Chelsea yet, on Saturday, the downcast mood was replaced by fresh optimism, despite the sombre nature of the occasion.

Off the pitch it was a time to remember the 96 fans who lost their lives watching Liverpool take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough on April 15, 1989.

The minute’s silence was impeccably observed by both sets of supporters. The sight of Blackburn’s Stephen Warnock — a former Liverpool defender — walking towards the Kop before the game and laying a wreath was moving, applause ringing round Anfield at the touching gesture.

Yet on the pitch it was a time to look forward. The club’s European ambitions may be lying in ruins, but, on this evidence, Liverpool are in no mood to concede the title race.

The scoreline suggests a comfortable one-sided victory and it was. Blackburn were as bad as their season-long flirtation with relegation suggests.

Yet not so long ago Liverpool would have botched this game, too. Stoke, Fulham, West Ham, Hull and away-day whipping boys Manchester City have all left Anfield undefeated.

Had this game been played three months earlier, when Sam Allardyce’s appointment coincided with an upturn in Blackburn’s results, then Rovers might also have escaped unscathed.

Unfortunately they had the misfortune to run into a Liverpool side hell-bent on keeping their season alive following last week’s Chelsea horror show.

From the moment Fernando Torres opened the scoring with barely five minutes on the clock with an outstanding volley, to young substitute David Ngog’s stoppage time goal in front of the Kop, Liverpool dominated.

In between, Torres added his 14th goal of the season while Daniel Agger brought the house down with a long-range strike.

Despite the scoreline, it was by no means their best performance of the season yet it was job done as far as Benitez was concerned.

“After the defeat the other day we needed to play well and score goals,” he said.

“The key was that we had another game quickly so we had an opportunity to change things. We were in control from the beginning. It was just a question of time.”

Whatever the outcome at Stamford Bridge, where Steven Gerrard is expected to start after being left on the bench against Blackburn following his recent groin injury, Benitez and his players will be back at Anfield the following day for the memorial service to mark the disaster and remember those who died.

“We were talking about this and we know the next few days are really important for our fans,” added Benitez. Blackburn was a good game for the fans and the families. We are doing our job and we will see what happens.”

Gerrard believes the nature of Liverpool’s win means they travel to Chelsea with hope ahead of their mission impossible.

To score three goals at Stamford Bridge is a tall order even for a club which completed one of the most famous comebacks in European Cup final history in 2005. Yet, as Bolton proved on Saturday, Stamford Bridge is not the impenetrable fortress of seasons past.

“We’ve got a mountain to climb and it’s going to take something huge to get us through,” said Gerrard, who lost his cousin, Jon-Paul Gilhooley in the Hillsborough tragedy. “The way we’ve been playing we’re capable of doing anything. Tuesday night’s an important date in the calendar, but equally important is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ll be there with the rest of the boys at Anfield to pay my own personal, and our collective, respects.

“I lost a member of my family in Sheffield and seeing the reactions of his mum, dad and family helped me drive on to become the player that I have developed into today. It is central and very important to this football club. We have stuck together since that day, like we always do, and that shows what kind of club we are.”

REFEREE: Mike Riley (West Yorkshire) 6: Decent performance. Allowed the game to flow while Agger, Xabi Alonso and Keith Andrews can have few complaints about their yellow cards.

MATCH RATING: **** Breathtaking start thanks to Torres’ scorcher and an entertaining finish with two goals in the final seven minutes.